A gunman who was also armed with a hatchet opened fire in a movie theater in suburban Nashville, Tenn. Wednesday before dying in a shootout with police.
Fire department spokesman Brian Haas said three people were treated for exposure to pepper spray, and one of those had a superficial wound that could have been caused by a hatchet. No one was taken to a hospital.
The gunman was reportedly identified as a 51-year-old man from the Nashville area. Police spokesman Don Aaron said he was wearing a surgical mask when he unleashed pepper spray inside the theater showing "Mad Max."
Aaron said an officer came into the theater and was fired upon by the suspect. The officer shot back, then backed off. After that, a SWAT team came in, and there was another exchange of gunfire. The suspect was then found dead.
The man also left two backpacks that were being examined by hazardous device officers.
A metro police dispatcher told The Tennessean newspaper the shooting was reported at 1:13 p.m. at the Carmike Hickory Hollow Cinema in Antioch, Tennessee.
Nashville Police confirmed in a tweet that an active shooting situation was reported, and the the suspect was dead.
The latest shooting comes about two weeks after a gunman opened fire inside a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, during a screening of the film "Trainwreck." Police said John Russell Houser killed two people and wounded nine others before fatally shooting himself.
